MY 5 FAVORITE FILM EXPERIENCES OF 2023!
– By Adam Mast –
While there were certainly a handful of higher-profile films that failed to deliver in 2023, there were still plenty of movies that hit the sweet spot. This Top 5 list represents my favorite movies for 2023.
“THE HOLDOVERS”
In this 70s-set character-driven drama, a cranky professor (Paul Giamatti) bonds with a grieving campus cook (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) and a smart but defiant student (Dominic Sessa) at an elite New England prep school over the course of a Christmas break. As layers are peeled away, we come to learn quite a bit about these endearing and very human individuals. With its often cozy tone and snow-filled backdrop, “The Holdovers” emerges as quite a wonderful Christmas movie, but it should also be noted that this gem of a film manages to come across as honest and heartfelt without being cloying. Further still, while “The Holdovers” isn’t without a sense of sadness, it is, ultimately, hopeful and optimistic. Yes, there are moments of familiarity here, but Giamatti, Randolph, and Sessa are simply stellar. They bring a lived-in quality and rapport that make for a truly authentic (and exceptional) motion picture experience that I won’t soon forget.
“STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE”
This tribute to Michael J. Fox is not only a joyful look at the actor’s spirited career but it’s also a hard-hitting exploration into his battle with Parkinson’s Disease. Through interviews with the forever optimistic Fox, his peers, and members of his supportive family, “Still” is candid, eye-opening, unflinching, and undeniably poignant. It should also be noted that it’s skillfully made, particularly where the creative editing is concerned. A must-watch, most notably for Michael J. Fox fans.
“OPPENHEIMER”
Christopher Nolan’s complicated and multi-layered look at the brilliant mind behind the atomic bomb features a riveting turn by Cillian Murphy in the title role as well as award-worthy performances from the likes of Robert Downey Jr. and Emily Blunt. “Oppenheimer” is a sprawling, provocative, well-balanced, and poetic deep dive into quite a polarizing real-life figure. With this all-star epic, the gifted Nolan appears to be drawing from the likes of Oliver Stone’s “JFK,” and the end result is one of the most mesmerizing films of 2023.
“GODZILLA MINUS ONE”
This was the most unexpected surprise of 2023. A heartfelt monster epic that refused to let a modest budget (reported to be less than $15 million) keep it from looking massive in scale. In terms of tone, “Godzilla Minus One” hearkens back to the spirit of the original film from 1954.
For all of its accomplishments, what impressed me most about this movie is that Godzilla himself (itself) is both integral and secondary to the plot. Ultimately, this is a film about people helping one another during dark times. This isn’t to say “Godzilla Minus One” doesn’t deliver the awe-inspiring goods. It certainly does. Look no further than a terrifying and undeniably epic sequence in which Godzilla engages in a little prerequisite city stomping and destructive fire-breathing. Does this movie get a little hammy at times? Maybe but no matter. This is one of 2023’s very best, and my only regret was not seeing it in Imax!
“TALK TO ME”
Written and directed by brothers Danny and Michael Philippou (who made a name for themselves with popular YouTube content) this high-energy, briskly-paced horror show delivers the terrifying goods. Whereas the slasher craze of the 80s would often find unsuspecting teens and twenty-somethings fornicating and getting high before being picked off one-by-one by mysterious masked killers, the young individuals front and center in “Talk to Me” get their kicks by serving as human hosts for spirits through the aid of an embalmed hand with supernatural properties. An immensely entertaining terror ride that puts a fresh spin on your garden-variety horror tropes.
See you at the movies!
